Taube In Tibet
by Spleriia Emperor Splerii
Summary: On one early morning, Khampa and Bodi were both going to start their day just like any other day within their quaint Tibetan mountain village but when a small foreign plane landed near to their village, they realized that it's time for them to mingle with somebody else apart from the others.
1. Engine Failure

As the sun started to shine from the horizon, Khampa was just standing outside of a house. While he was looking around his left and right sides, his son Bodi arrived while holding a cup of hot tea.

'Morning, Dad.'

'Ah. Morning, Son. Have you taken your breakfast already?'

'Yeah. I just finished eating with the others.'

Khampa then notices the cup that he was holding.

'What's with the hot cup of tea?'

'I came here because I wanted to give it to you.'

'Really? Who made it?'

'I did.'

'Oh. Thanks, Son.'

Bodi hands over the cup to his father. Khampa then took a few sips and the taste of the hot tea makes him smile a bit.

'That is a good cup of tea.'

'Yep. I also made some toast as well back at the house. Would you like for me to return back and bring some for you?'

'Don't overexert yourself, Bodi or else you might get too tired for your musical practice later.'

'Nah. Don't worry, Dad. I could still handle.'

Khampa chuckled and he continued on drinking his tea but as he was going to finish drinking, a mysterious sound echoed from the distance.

'Wait. Did you hear that?'

'Hear what, Dad?'

'That sound. I think it's from the sky.'

Bodi listened carefully and he too heard it.

'Yeah. I do.'

The younger Tibetan mastiff perked his ears a bit and he looked toward the skies around himself.

'Can you see what is it?'

'Umm.'

The other villagers then started to see something that was in the sky. Bodi searched for something in the air more closely and he saw it.

'Hey, Dad. Ain't that one causing the sound?'

'Where?'

Bodi pointed his fingers towards the sky. Khampa looked up into the sky, towards to the direction of where Bodi was pointing at. As the sound went louder, the two mastiffs and the villagers could see a pair of small planes slowly flying over. The planes were shaped like a bird and they were colored yellow and white. As the planes circled around the village, the residents were coming out from their houses to witness the mysterious things flying in circles.

'What are those?'

'Looks like bird-like planes to me.'

As the plane circled around for a few more minutes, one of them started to slow down and descent towards the grassy clearing away from the village. The other mastiff guards began to rally up towards it.

'Dad, I think it's coming down.'

'Let's find it out, Son.'

Both Bodi and Khampa left the spot and went towards to the plane.

...

The propeller engine began to quiet down as the plane was about to land on a spacious patch of grass not away from the said village. When the plane landed, the engine stopped and a pair of two Splenish pilots wearing Qing Dynasty-style Beiyang Army uniforms disembarked.

'I guess we're having an engine failure, Acher.'

'You should have told me earlier that this Etrich Taube hasn't been checked back at Splena, Renar!'

'Okay, Acher. Calm down. I'm sorry if I didn't told about the problem.'

Acher sighed.

'Just contact the second plane that we're going to catch them up at Lhasa instead of Peking.'

'Alright.'

Acher took out a knapsack while Renar operated the radio.

'Kalir, this is Renar. We have experienced an engine failure and we're forced to land in the field at the southwestern direction of your position. Be advised that we'll be delayed to reach Peking to conduct on-the-spot repair of our plane's engine.'

 _'Renar, this is Kalir. I copy that. We'll wait you in the rendezvous point at Lhasa. Stand by for ETA.'_

Renar sighed.

'Acknowledged.'

He then switched the radio off and faces to his brother.

'I already contacted Splero's son.'

'Good. For the meantime, I'm going to hoist this flag.'

'Are you sure about it?'

'Don't worry about it.'

Acher then unfurled the flag from his knapsack. He took a long piece of wood that was on the ground and Acher tied on it before planting the flag onto the ground. The breeze make the Splenish Imperial flag flutter.

'There we go. If there would be anyone who might spot us, at least they know that we're not one of them.'

'I guess so.'

Renar then turned his head to one side and he could see a group of Tibetan mastiffs closing towards the plane.

'Hey, Acher.'

'What?'

'Are we armed or what?'

'We're armed with nothing more than our ancient Mauser C-96 pistols in our holsters. Why?'

'We got company.'

Acher turned around and he saw the mastiffs closing.

'Oh dear.'


	2. Coming In Peace: Part One

As the mastiffs approached towards them, both of the Splenish shapeshifters prepared their only handguns that were inside their holsters. A line of Tibetan mastiffs and goat villagers stood their ground just a few meters away from them. Renar placed his shaking hand over his leather holster while Acher held his ground near to the flag that he just planted on the dirt.

'What is this?'

Emerging from the crowd, both Khampa and Bodi appeared. Renar prepared his loaded Mauser C-96 but Acher did not. The line of Tibetan mastiffs prepared their defense by changing their postures for combat. Before the canine guards could begin in launching their deadly Mastiff Paws, Khampa hollered to his men.

'Hold your paws!'

The other guards heeded the word yet they kept themselves alert.

'Who are you guys?'

Acher removed his hand from his holster.

'We're both foreign shapeshifters from the Great Splenish Empire. We mean no harm.'

Khampa checked both Acher and Renar from a few feet away. He then noticed Renar still pointing his handgun at him.

'What are you pointing at me, huh?'

Acher looked at Renar and he nudges him with his shoulder.

'Renar, lower your sidearm.'

'N-No, man. I wouldn't do that if I were you.'

'Renar. Lower down that handgun you're holding. Now.'

'But, B-Brother...'

'I said it now, Renar!'

Acher's younger brother slowly lowered down his handgun and he kept away on his own holster.

'That's more like it.'

The older Splenish pilot cleared his throat as he faces to Khampa.

'I'm sorry about that. You might though that we're threats to you and for the villagers but we're both not like that.'

'I see. What are your names?'

'My name is Acher and this is my brother Renar. Like what I said, we're both foreign shapeshifters from the Great Splenish Empire.'

'Great Splenish Empire?'

Khampa looked back and he could see his son Bodi approaching towards them by a few steps.

'Bodi, let me handle them.'

'Handle them? Dad, they mean no harm.'

'I know but I have a feeling that they might be lyi...'

Renar then looked at Bodi and he went gobsmacked.

'Wait. Aren't you the one named Bodi?'

'Umm...Yeah. I'm the one. Why?'

'Dear God! You're Crown Prince Kalir's idol!'

'Hmm?'

Acher sighed.

'He's right. Our Crown Prince idolized him because of his musical fame but in fact, we're both his so-called Regent-Majordomos.'

'I-I see.'

Khampa cuts them all as confusion drowned him.

'Hold on, everyone! I don't understand this at all! What are you two doing here in the first place?'

'Oh. It's simple. We're on our flight on route to Lhasa and Peking but our plane suffered a problem so we're been forced to land here and wait for the others.'

'Others', you said?'

'Yes but don't worry about them. They also mean no harm.'

'Are you sure? If you're lying, I won't have second thoughts in dealing with you and your partner from this village.'

'I swear indeed. Honestly.'

'If we're both lying for now, consider us getting killed or anything if you and your villagers wished.'

A short silenced followed before the older Tibetan Mastiff replied.

'Very well.'

Khampa sighed and he faces to the crowd.

'Alright, men. These foreigners were not intruders. They are our guests.'

The other mastiffs and goats lowered their guard. Acher sighed a bit as he secured the straps of his holster before glancing at his brother.

'Way to go with that one, Renar.'

Renar remain silent.

Khampa then looked at them.

'Please follow us towards the village.'

'Alright. Get your gear, brother. I think these villagers grants us their hospitality.'

'Okay, Acher.'

Renar then took his knapsack while Acher took his and the two followed Khampa and Bodi towards the village. The flag was still fluttering near the grounded Etrich Taube. While the group walked towards the village, Bodi whispered to his father.

'What are these two, Dad?'

'I don't know but I guess we should 'detain' here for a bit just to be sure.'

'Are you sure about that?'

'I hope so.'

Bodi then placed his guitar onto his back.

'I wonder if those two were telling the truth about what they had just said.'

'Like what?'

'Like what they say that their so-called Crown Prince totally idolized me for my fame with the band.'

'I'm not sure about that but if we could know more about them, then we will know the truth.'

'I guess so, Dad.'

'Right then.'

The mastiffs continued on as they escorted Acher and Renar back.

...

Somewhere in Lhasa, a second Taube from earlier had finally arrived at the designated airport. As the old pre-World War One German-built monoplane was being parked near to the hangar, Kalir disembarked.

'Dad, both Acher and Renar landed in a grassy region near to the mountains not far from here.'

'I know, Son. You already told me that 4 minutes ago.'

'Oh. Sorry.'

Kalir's father, Emperor Spleriia Splero, disembarked from his plane that he brought from China. On his hand was a large briefcase.

'Why Renar haven't checked the engines from earlier back at Splena?'

'They were in a hurry in packing up the relics that you requested.'

'I did?'

'Yeah.'

'Oops.'

Splero groaned.

'Why would I be so careless?'

His Akita wolf-dog heir patted his back.

'Don't blame yourself too much, Dad. People always make mistakes.'

'Yeah. I forgot about that. Thanks for saying that, Son.'

Kalir smiled.

'Anyway, what is our mission again here?'

'First, we're going to deliver the Tibetan national flag to the Potala Palace. Second, we're heading to Peking so that we could deliver the flag of the Qing Dynasty to a museum near to the Forbidden City.'

'What a fascinating mission there, Dad.'

'Yep. I been planning this ever since I proclaim myself as the Emperor.'

He then hands over the briefcase to Kalir.

'Here. Take this for a while. We're going to make a quick stop here.'

'Wait. What about Acher and Renar?'

'Don't worry about them. We'll send them some emergency supplies after we complete something here in the Tibetan capital.'

'Okay then.'

Both the Splenish human monarch and his canine son departed from the hangar.


	3. Coming In Peace: Part Two

As both Acher and Renar was being escorted by Khampa's men towards the village, the other villagers that remained inside were starting to come out from their respective houses so that they could see the new foreigners that had just arrived at their very homestead.

'Acher.'

'What?'

'There's a lot of goats in here.'

'I think they were the villagers alright, brother.'

'Ah.'

After walking through a few blocks, the two Splenish pilots arrived at Khampa's very house. There, the group of Tibetan Mastiffs stood by in complete readiness. Both Khampa and his son looked at the two humans before them.

'Please put down your bags and have a sit on the grass.'

Both Acher and Renar placed their knapsacks on the grass before they sat down on the ground. Khampa was still looking at them both.

'Our villagers were still thinking that you two were foreign guests of deep suspicion. Can you tell us of your business?'

'Sure thing, Sir.'

'The name is Khampa and the one beside me is my son Bodi. You guys might know him from earlier, right?'

'Uhh...Yeah. T-That's true, Sir Khampa.'

'Right then.'

Acher cleared his throat.

'Our main business that I been up to with my brother here is to deliver some important relics to Lhasa and Peking. It was originally a simple task since we're going to bring something of unremarkable value to the museums located in these capital cities.'

'I see.'

Bodi smiled a bit as he was taken an interest on what they had said to his father.

'What kind of relics that you guys were tasked to deliver?'

'The flags of Tibet and the Qing Dynasty.'

'Whoa. Now that's remarkable.'

'Yep.'

Khampa rubbed his chest a bit with his paws with a relief-like smile.

'Now I could finally verify that you two ain't intruders or persons of suspicion. It's fair for me to say at least that both of you seemed to be doing something a bit ordinary.'

'Yeah. I guess so.'

Acher chuckled a bit. Bodi knelt down near to Renar.

'So you guys were my fans?'

'Indeed. In fact, we been listening to your songs for long time now.'

'Yeah. Even the Crown Prince himself.'

'I see.'

Khampa coughed a bit as he tighten his shirt a bit.

'Who is this Crown Prince that you guys talking about to my son? What does he looked like?'

'He looked like a simple canine to some but with power invested in him.'

Renar then took his knapsack and he grabbed a newspaper clip before giving it to Khampa. The older mastiff took the clip and he could see a picture of Crown Prince Kalir posing near to a podium as if he was doing a public speech. Also in the background was his father.

'Ah, I see.'

'Whoa! I never thought that he could be powerful that anyone else.'

'That's not entirely true.'

'Why not?'

'Because he's not the incumbent Emperor that I would say. The real power was invested by his father.'

'His father? You mean this male human dressed in his regalia that was standing near to the podium was the one?'

'Yep.'

'Oh. I thought he was the incumbent taking hold on that position. What is his name?'

'The name of our current monarch that we're serving to was by the name of Splero Kerano but the world often refers him by his reign name called Spleriia.'

'Now that's a fairly tongue-twisting name.'

'Well. Not quite for some, though.'

Bodi took the newspaper clip from his father and he took a look at it. The young mastiff looked at the picture for a few seconds before he gave it back to Acher.

'We hope that the others would arrive here to help us in repairing the engine so that we could continue on our quest.'

'Does that quest important to both of you?'

'Not only for us but also for the very Empire itself.'

'Yeah. Our Emperor been planning to perform his first active overseas duties here in Tibet and China for a very long time now.'

'I understand.'

Renar tapped Acher's shoulder.

'Hey, Acher. Not only we should focus on our mission to deliver the flags to Lhasa and Peking but we could also explore around this village.'

'You think so, Renar?'

'Yeah! I mean look at this place, brother. It's so calm and spacious. Surely, the Emperor and the Crown Prince would love to visit this place.'

'I-I guess.'

Acher then looked at Khampa.

'Well, Sir Khampa. Can we ask your permission to allo...'

'Sure thing.'

'Huh?'

'I would like to introduce to you and your partner more about this very village and its residents if that is what you wanted to ask.'

'Oh. Y-Yes, Sir! Thanks, by the way. We're glad t-to!'

Khampa nodded and he stood up.

'Come on, Bodi. Care to help me in sharing something for these two men? I know that you ventured these streets for quite a long time ago.'

'Sure thing, Dad.'

Bodi stood up and followed close to his father.

'Alright, guys. Please follow us. We'll tell you both more about this place as we venture deep here and there.'

'Thanks, Rockstar Bodi.'

The young and skilled mastiff guitarist was a bit surprised to hear that from Renar but he smiled back nonetheless.


	4. Bodi's Call

Inside the walls of a studio that was located away from Snow Mountain, Angus was eating some noodles and dumplings along with Darma and Germur.

'This tastes so good, guys. I never believe that these food were great for takeouts.'

'They were, man. We simply loved it so much. We even love eating the noodles when there was a storm or a cold weather.'

The vixen giggled.

'You said it all, dude!'

Angus took a few more bites on his dumplings that was wedged on his pair of chopsticks. Ozzie then arrived with a phone holding in his mechanical arms. The male Persian cat then noticed the robotic butler.

'A call for me, Ozzie?'

The robot responded by nodding its monitor-like head in reply.

'Alright. Thanks.'

Angus took the phone from Ozzie. He then took the call while Germur and Darma kept on eating.

'Hello?'

'Hey there, Angus. It's me - Bodi.'

'Oh. Heya there, mutt. How are ya in there? Still doing some guitar practice with your blue magical powers?'

'I tried but there's something else.'

'Really?'

Angus elevated his legs a bit as he sat back to his chair.

'What is it then?'

Bodi cleared his throat a bit.

'I have some 'special' guests in my village, Angus.'

'Guests?'

Darma perked up.

'Fans, I think?'

'I guess so.'

'No, Angus. Not only fans of mine but they were also the village's special guests. They came here by plane.'

'I see.'

'Yep. My father and his minions thought that they were suspicious intruders but apparently, they were just mere visitors. They were heading to the capital's airport but their plane broke down and I think that the two would be staying at my place for now.'

'That's quite fascinating, Bodi.'

'Really? If you guys wanted to meet them, just head to Snow Mountain if you guys wanted to. I'm sure they were be thrilled when they saw you all, guys.'

'Hang on, mutt.'

Angus looked at Darma and Germur.

'Bodi said that there were two special visitors at his place. Probably fans to him or to the band. Want to go there and pay them a visit?'

'Sure thing, man.'

'We like to, Angus. Besides, I wanted to visit Snow Mountain all the time.'

'Alright then.'

The Persian cat cleared his throat.

'Okay, dude. We're heading there now. Let's hope that the guests would be thrilled to us coming.'

'Oh. They will sure do, Angus. Anyway, I'm going off now. Bye!'

'Bye!'

The call ended and Angus places the phone on the desk.

'Do you guys finished on eating?'

'We're almost done eating. How bout yours?'

The feline then noticed his partly consumed meal that was just on the table.

'Umm. Not yet, girl. I'll finish it up fast. After that, I'm going to prepare for the trip.'

'Alright then. Just don't eat it too fast, though. You might get choked to oblivion.'

Both Darma and Germur laughed while Angus ignored their teases.

...

Back at Snow Mountain, Acher and Renar were both exploring the entire village and its infrastructure as they were toured by Khampa, Bodi and a few other villagers and guards.

'The place is still standing until today. Even though time passes on, the entire village remained on its glorious state.'

'Whoa! This village reminds me of Yad Dili Lidi.'

Bodi plastered a curious look on his face and he looked at Renar.

'Yad Dili...What?'

'He said 'Yad Dili Lidi', Bodi.'

'What's that?'

'That's the capital of our Empire where we lived in. Its infrastructure was like the same just as this one but with a few changes, though.'

'That place sure is interesting, man.'

'It was. If you saw the capital city, you would though that the place looked like Peking from 1911 because of the architecture of its standing buildings.'

Khampa looked back.

'Ain't that a Oriental city?'

'Not much but our Emperor wanted our capital to look like one, though.'

'I'm guessing that your Emperor that you been speaking was of Asian descent.'

'He really was, Mr. Khampa.'

'Really?'

'Yep. He was even a descendant to the Qing.'

'Qing? You mean the Manchus?'

'Yeah. That one.'

'I see.'

After walking through for a few blocks, the entourage arrived near to a forest clearing.

'That area there was the gateway to the urban life. Bodi went through those paths when he was longing to be a musician in the city long ago.'

Bodi chuckled.

'I could still remember that, Dad.'

The elder mastiff sighed.

'Not a few villagers manage to travel through there.'

'Why not? Is there's someone lost there already?'

'N-No. Not because of that. It's because of our villagers' cultural awareness. Only a few manage to go through that clearing on route to urban. Bodi is one of them.'

Both Acher and Renar kept on looking at the forest clearing.

'Does the path took a long and winding trail towards the city?'

'I don't know. I rarely go out to that place.'

Khampa then looked at his son.

'Bodi. When you went to the city by taking this path, is the trail a bit long or short.'

'It was fairly long but there were so rest stops.'

'Okay then.'

Bodi looked towards the forest clearing.

'Until now, I could still remember my crossing there.'

'Wow. Such memories there, dude!'

The young Tibetan mastiff chuckled. Khampa then turned around and started to walk back.

'Okay, guys. Let's return back to the village. I think Fleetwood Yak prepared some refreshments for us all.'

The entourage retraced their steps and went back to the village.


	5. Lunch At Fleetwood's

Inside one of the stone houses, Fleetwood Yak and a few other sheep villagers were preparing some tea, rice and some piping hot soup for today's lunch.

'Are you done with that china kettle, guys?'

'We're almost done in making some tea for lunchtime, Mr. Fleetwood. Just a few more minutes and it's now ready.'

With a smile, Fleetwood prepared the chinaware and other utensils. As he and his assistants helped each other, Khampa and Bodi arrived by the doorway.

'Hey there, Fleetwood. Cooking something?'

The elder yak chuckled.

'I'm been cooking something that you and your son loved.'

He then turned to face him. Khampa rubbed his paws a bit.

'Fleetwood, there's somebody that I wanted you to meet. They were already here in the village.'

'I see. Who were they?'

Khampa steps aside and he introduced both Acher and Renar whom were standing outside.

'Meet Acher and Renar. Both of them were human foreign pilots flying to Lhasa and Beijing for an important quest but they ended up landing here instead.'

Fleetwood chuckled.

'Well. Nice to meet you all! My name is Fleetwood Yak and welcome to Snow Mountain.'

Both Acher and Renar bowed their heads deeply.

'It's an honor to meet you, Mr. Fleetwood.'

The elder yak smiled a bit.

'Please come in, everyone. Lunch is about to be served shortly.'

Khampa, Bodi and the two Splenish pilots entered inside the spacious house while the china kettle of piping hot tea and some wicker steam baskets of dumplings were being placed on the table by the other villagers helping Fleetwood Yak. As the entourage sat down, Fleetwood looked at them as he lowered down a steam basket.

'What brings you both here in our mountain village?'

'Oh. We're flying for Lhasa and Beijing to deliver some historical artifacts that our Emperor requested to us. Unfortunately, our plane suffered an engine failure so we decided to stay here for the time being.'

'Ah. I see.'

Bodi scratched the side of his face.

'There were going to be more visitors to this village later, Mr. Fleet. They said that they were going to arrive here soon so that they could repair the engine of their so-called Taube or something.'

Renar nodded.

'I don't know about that, Bodi. I'm not sure when will the Emperor and his son would arrive to help us, though.'

Khampa places his paws on the wooden surface of the table.

'Maybe you should wait for them here a bit longer.'

'I guess so.'

Fleetwood then hands Khampa and Bodi the china kettle and a few tea cups. A few other sheep gave Acher and Renar tea cups as well. As the mastiffs poured some tea on their cups, they passed it to the two Splenish guests. When both of them poured some and took a few sips, the taste makes them smile and refreshed.

'Delicious!'

'Yeah. It tasted like the same tea that we loved back at Splena!'

'It's green tea, guys.'

'I know, right?'

Bodi chuckled.

'You looked so hyped up with just a few sips of tea, dude.'

'Oh. I forgot to tell you something, Bodi.'

'What is it?'

'I'm an avid tea drinker.'

Khampa finishes off his tea cup before he questioned Renar.

'You are?'

'Yes, Mr. Khampa. We Splenish love tea very much like what the Chinese would normally do from the past.'

The elder mastiff smirked slightly.

'What would we say more? We always drink tea in here and there.'

'That's great!'

Acher tapped his shoulder.

'Whoa there, brother. Calm your senses! I noticed that your Qi is ramping up much.'

Renar chuckled with a tone of embarrassment on his voice.

'M-My bad.'

Fleetwood laughed as he sat down and prepared his own tea drink. Bodi took a steamed dumpling from the wicker basket and Khampa took one as well.

'I have a question with you, Acher.'

'Sure. Go ahead, Khampa.'

'Why would your Emperor ordered you and your brother to deliver the artifacts to Lhasa and Beijing?'

'The reason why is because he was planning to ramp up Chinese culture a bit. He was a strong supporter of Asian culture and he first started on supporting it so that he could gain more spheres of influence with other interna...'

Before he could finish, Renar nudged him by the shoulder. He then whispered to him.

'Acher, don't spill the beans too much. That's an act of breaking the Splenish COC.'

'But I'm just telling to Khampa of why we're doing the task ordered by the Emperor.'

'Just make it low, man. You almost make their opinions go sou...'

Khampa cleared his throat. Both Acher and Renar silenced themselves.

'Is something wrong?'

'Err...N-No. Not at all, Mr. Khampa. Anyway, the reason why were on route to Lhasa and Beijing is because the Emperor wanted to sent the relics to its respective places. In the Potala Palace and the Forbidden City, I mean.'

'I see.'

Bodi enjoyed on devouring the dumpling that he was holding.


End file.
